Everything Changes
by shouvley
Summary: The story of Crystal, the original host to Pet. A prequel of sorts to A Million Reasons.
1. Arrival

_A/N: This is Crystal's story. It takes place immediately before she becomes the host for Pet. Basically I'm using this as an explanation of Crystal's personality in later stories. (Yes, that's right there will be later stories, and Crystal will be a main character in at least one of them.) There are only going to be five chapters, so this story will move fairly quickly. Reviews are always appreciated and generally the more reviews I get, the faster I update ;) Enjoy!_

_Quick side note: Apparently in Portland you go to middle school after 5th grade instead of Junior High after 6th. Too bad. Crystal is finishing 6__th__ grade and going to an imaginary Jr. High in Portland.

* * *

_I was in the sixth grade when they came. I was getting ready for my Elementary Farewell Ceremony. They didn't call it graduation anymore. I never did understand why they needed a ceremony at all. We would all be going to the same junior high next year anyway. Everyday before Language Arts we went over the details of the ceremony, making invitations for our parents, picking the music we wanted to play during our slideshow (Not that we even needed to vote. It had been Good Riddance by Green Day every year for the last 10.), and practicing our procession onto the stage. It seemed like overkill but I wasn't going to complain about less time in Language Arts. That was my least favorite subject by far.

At the end of sixth grade there were always tryouts for the junior high cheerleading squad. The thought was that after tryouts they would have the whole summer to practice to be ready for the first game in September. Unfortunately that had never happened. They tried out in May and had their first practice in August. It was practically tradition.

I was beyond excited for tryouts. I loved cheerleading ever since my father signed me up to cheer for Pee-Wee Football. I had been practicing for weeks and felt pretty confident. I didn't have the loudest voice and I wasn't the best tumbler, but I was the smallest and would be the logical choice for flier when we stunted. I wasn't sure I would like being that high in the air, especially when the only thing between me and the ground were three girls who were just as new to it as I was, but I was willing to try. I just wanted to be part of the group. Everyone knew cheerleaders were the most popular girls in junior high and high school, and I had every intention of staying just as popular as I was in elementary school.

Tryouts were after school on Tuesday and on Tuesday morning I skipped down the stairs, gym bag in hand. I tossed my bag and backpack by the front door and went into the kitchen where my parents sat at the table. My dad was reading the paper and my mom was watching the news on the small TV on the counter.

"Morning sweetheart," Dad said, leaning across his paper to kiss me on the cheek as I put my pop tart into the toaster. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Pretty good, but the Mitchell's dog was up most of the night whining. It was kind of annoying."

"That's strange. Normally that dog is so well behaved," said Mom, looking up from the television. She craned her neck, trying to see from our kitchen window into the Mitchell's yard. I wasn't sure what she hoped to accomplish from this but I didn't say anything. My mother's nosiness was nothing new.

I pulled my breakfast out of the toaster and sat at the table. My mother's gaze finally averted from the neighbors and she focused on me.

"I saw you bring your gym bag down. Tryouts are today?" she asked with fake nonchalance, her disdain still detectable. She had tried to hide it but I knew that she did not want me to try out. She had cheered as a teenager and found that it was more politics than sport. She didn't want that for her daughter but she wasn't going to tell me what I was and was not allowed to do. She decided it would be a learning experience but that was all she thought I would get out of cheerleading. She didn't think I would turn out to be the cheerleading type. She hoped I would decide to play volleyball instead, but I was adamant that cheerleading was the only sport I was capable of due to my small frame. My mother was in the process of finding a way to prove me wrong.

"Yes, Mom," I said, exasperated. "They've been scheduled for weeks." She gave me a look and I knew that my tone was close to punishable. But I was staying within limits. Barely. Lately I had been pushing the limits with my parents to see how far they would let me go. It seemed like a perfectly acceptable way to entertain myself at meal times.

"Unbelievable," my father remarked.

"What Dad?" I asked.

"The state prison just released 20 prisoners last week for good behavior. It says here they usually only release two or three all year. I don't understand what the parole board is thinking." I let him ramble on. I had been hoping he was going to read something explaining how the Trail Blazers' best player had suddenly become completely worthless on defense, not even trying to stop the other players from driving to the basket. Sometimes it looked as though he purposely moved out of the way to give them a better lane. I was extremely disappointed. This was supposed to be their championship year.

Outside I heard a low rumbling sound and knew the school bus had just turned onto the street. There were two stops before our house so I downed my milk and held out my hand while my father pulled my lunch money out of his wallet. I tapped my foot impatiently and he gave me a disapproving look. I took the money, grabbed my bags and was out the door.

The bus pulled up to the sidewalk and I hauled my bags up the steps with effort. Whoever decided that all of history needed to be in one book was not thinking about undersized preteens.

"Need some help with that, dear?" the bus driver Mrs. Blake asked me.

I stared at her critically. Mrs. Blake was the kind of woman who hoped you didn't make it up the steps so she would have one less passenger to deal with. It was completely unlike her to offer assistance in any way. I shrugged it off, deciding that maybe she was taking that new anti-depressant I had seen advertised all over.

I took my seat next to Amanda Carson, my friend who lived a couple of blocks away. We used to be best friends a few years ago but in the last year we had grown apart slightly. I had started going out with Ricky Beroni and began sitting with his group of friends at lunch everyday. Unfortunately, Amanda's boyfriend, Andrew Chiles, did not get along with Ricky. Although we were on separate sides of a very profound conflict (Ricky claimed that Andrew threw at his head in a baseball game. Andrew maintained that it was a 'lucky slip'.), we never stopped being friends, despite what our boyfriends thought.

"What's up with Mrs. Blake?" I asked. "Is it just me or is she acting totally weird?"

Amanda nodded. "She's kind of creeping me out. She offered to wait for me to go back in the house to get my homework."

"Whoa." I was taken aback. Mrs. Blake was nothing if not a slave driver when it came to being at your stop on time with everything necessary. The sooner she dropped us off at the school, the more time she had before she had to pick us up again. "That's crazy."

We chatted the rest of the way to school about our classes and the upcoming Farewell Ceremony. While I thought it was a pointless waste of time, Andrea was very excited. Although it became apparent that the reason for her excitement was the new dress she got for the occasion. I made a mental note to ask my mother about my attire for the ceremony. If I had to go I might as well get a new outfit out of the ordeal. When we pulled up to the school Andrea disembarked first, heading over to the picnic table Andrew usually claimed since his bus was always the first to arrive.

"Have a good day," Mrs. Blake said with a smile as I exited the bus. There was something odd about the way she was looking at me but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She was just acting too strange.

The group was already discussing tryouts as I sauntered over to our usual bike rack. I gave Ricky a hug and turned to face the group. Ricky's friend Jackie was already grilling me.

"So, aren't you so excited for tryouts later?" Jackie asked excitedly. Her shoulder-length dark hair was pulled pack into French-braided pigtails, as was the style for any sixth grade special occasion, cheerleading tryouts included.

"Oh, crap," I muttered. I was suddenly aware that I hadn't brought anything to tie my hair back with. I started to panic. The first rule of cheerleading was that hair had to be pulled back from the face.

"What is it?" Jackie asked with fake concern. There was no denying Jackie was fake. She even admitted it from time to time.

"I just realized I forgot a hair tie. Can I use one of yours?" I asked with a hopeful expression.

Jackie looked shocked. "My mother spent 45 minutes on my hair this morning. It would be rude to her if I gave you one of my hair ties."

I didn't want to start a fight so she just said, "Sorry, I didn't think about that."

Ricky whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, babe. I'll steal a rubber band off of Mrs. Murray's desk." He smiled at me and I shot him a look.

"I can't put a rubber band in my hair. It will tear it all out. You don't know that?" He thought he was such a ladies man and he really didn't know that?

The bell rang and I stalked off to my locker where I deposited my bags and retrieved my math book. I started off to my classroom for morning announcements, all the while thinking of some way to tie my hair back. This was going to ruin everything!

* * *

_A/N: As you can see, there's some strange happenings. Get ready for some action in the next chapter. And by action I mean a fight. The souls aren't going to be very happy but who doesn't love a good fight?_


	2. Unchanged

I spent the entire day going through my cheer and dance in my head. I finished my lunch as quickly as possible so I could go outside to practice. I was practicing my jumps, hair flying in my face, when Amanda walked over to me holding a black hair tie.

"I heard you needed this," Amanda said quickly, checking over her shoulder to make sure Andrew and Ricky were both still eating.

I took it from her. "Thank you so much," I gushed as I pulled my hair into a messy bun. "You rock."

Amanda smiled at me. "Good luck at tryouts. I'll talk to on the bus tomorrow." She walked away and sat on a swing to wait for Andrew.

I found it much easier to concentrate when I wasn't worrying so much about my hair. I was running through the dance again when Jackie and two of her friends, Katie and Emily, all walked out of the cafeteria together. They joined me mid-dance and the four of us practiced until it was time for our afternoon classes. As we were walking back inside, Jackie turned to me.

"Where'd you find the hair tie?" she asked, curiosity brimming over.

"Oh, Amanda," I answered, not thinking. "She heard I needed one so she gave me hers."

Jackie whirled around with a horrified look. She took Ricky and Andrew's feud more seriously than probably even they did. She believed that there should be a line drawn down the center of the school with neither group crossing. In Jackie's mind it was an unforgivable offense for me to even think of speaking to Amanda, let alone accept her help in anyway. Jackie was going to tattle to Ricky about this, I was sure. Could this day get much worse?

I sat through the daily Farewell Ceremony planning, tapping my hands in rhythm to the music of our dance. I was trying to focus on my moves but my thoughts kept coming back to Jackie. I had been sure that Jackie was going to tattle as soon as she saw Ricky but she kept her mouth shut. She passed by him giving me a look, letting me know that it would come out eventually, just not yet.

My attention revolved around Jackie for the rest of the day until the final bell rang. I jumped up from my desk and had to restrain myself to keep from running to my locker. All of the problems with Jackie were forgotten, at least temporarily, as I rushed to the gym to get ready. I put on my white shirt, black shorts, and white gym shoes and strode out of the locker room. I was the first one ready and went to the center of the gym to sign in with Mrs. Lange, the cheerleading advisor. Mrs. Lange handed me a number which I pinned onto my shirt and I sat down to start stretching.

The other girls filed out of the locker room one by one. There were about 20 trying out of 12 spots. The competition was stiff and everyone already knew it would be a very thin margin between those who made the cut and those who didn't.

We went through the dance as a group twice then Mrs. Lange instructed us to wait in the hall and to come back in groups of four for the actual tryout. I was suddenly very aware that I was number 1, meaning I would go first out of everyone. A fresh wave of nerves hit me as we all filed out. I went through my cheer one last time before Mrs. Lange called the first group in.

I walked into the gym with my biggest, most spirited smile, making eye contact with each one of the judges before I took her place to start the dance. The CD started and I went through the moves without a hitch. The judges asked the other three girls to step back so I could do my cheer alone. I took a deep breath then started.

"We're fired up. We're sizzling. We're turning up the heat. Cause when it comes to football, the Tigers can't be beat!" I held my final punch for 2 seconds then popped back to my clap position and spirited my way back to the group as the next girl made her way forward.

When my group finished, we made their way back to the hall and took a seat on the floor to wait for the results. Some helped friends who hadn't gone yet with final preparations, but most just set contemplating their fate. Finally they all finished and after what felt like an eternity Mrs. Lange walked out from the gym with a paper in her hands.

"Here is the list, ladies. You are all listed on here, highest score at the top. Numbers one and two are co-captains and the first twelve are on the squad. After that, should someone quit or get injured we would take number 13, 14, and so on. Congratulations to all of you ladies. It was a very tough decision." She taped the paper to the door and walked back into the gym. Everyone bolted up from the floor and crowded around the door. I was the farthest away so I was the last to see the paper. That didn't matter though, all that mattered was I was number 4. Number 4! I hadn't been expecting that. I turned with a smile to see the rest of the group.

My eyes landed on Katie and Emily who were consoling Jackie who looked to be bordering on hysterical. I glanced back to the list. Katie was number 11, Emily was number 8, and Jackie was number 13. Jackie hadn't made the squad, and she had wanted it more than anyone. I wasn't sure how to comfort her but went over anyway to see if there was anything I could do.

Jackie saw me walking over and said to Katie and Emily, "Can you give Crystal and me a minute?" They nodded and walked back to stare at the list again.

I just stared awkwardly at Jackie, waiting for her to explain why she sent the other two away. Jackie didn't disappoint. "I didn't tell Ricky about you talking to Amanda," she stated.

"Yeah, thanks about that. I was just desperate for a hair tie," I lied.

"And if you want to keep it that way, you'll quit the squad." Jackie eyed me critically.

"What?!" I demanded, horrified.

"I want to be on the squad and you don't want me to tell Ricky you've been conversing with the enemy. It works out quite well in the end, I think."

She had a devious smile on her face and I couldn't restrain myself. I lunged for Jackie pushing her to the ground. I grabbed her hair and pulled as much as she could out of the French braid she was so proud of. I pulled my arm back and slapped her across the face with as much force as possible. I got a few good hits in before I was being pulled back by several squad members. I was fairly certain that I had lost my spot on the team but it was worth it. Jackie had been begging for someone to hit her for the last couple of months, and it would make her feel even worse that it was smallest girl in our grade that had taken her down. I smiled at Jackie in triumph as Mrs. Lange dragged me into the office to call my mother.

* * *

_A/N: No real soul activity in this one. Mostly just set up, but who doesn't love a good slap fight? Next chapter everything starts to hit the fan._


	3. Different

I had always been mildly terrified of my mother. It wasn't that she would beat me or yell at me or belittle me. All she ever did was look at me. And that look was usually enough scare me straight for a least a week. I could never figure out what is was about this look that was so menacing but whenever I was in trouble and my mother would look at me like that, it was as if there was nothing in the world I could do to make things right.

I prepared myself for the worst when my mother pulled up in our red Caravan. I opened the sliding door and tossed my bags inside, never looking at my mother. I climbed into the front seat and buckled my seatbelt, knowing I would have to look sooner or later. Finally, I summoned the courage to glance to my left and what I saw there was startling.

My mother was looking at me with a strange expression on her face. It wasn't quite a smile but it wasn't a frown either. And it was definitely a far cry from the intimidating look I had been expecting. I stared, waiting for her to say something but she didn't. It was as if she didn't know what to say. My fear turned into confusion as we stared at each other. My mother was never at a loss for words. What was going on?

At last I decided to speak, thinking maybe my mother had evolved to a new tactic. I cleared my throat then began, "So I know you're probably really mad but Mrs. Lange didn't tell you the whole story on the phone. It was not unprovoked. Jackie was trying to blackmail me into the quitting the squad."

She looked at me with the same confused expression. She considered what she was going to say for quite awhile then finally spoke in a tone that seemed very different than usual. "I'm not mad at you," she began. My jaw dropped. "I think it's horrible that you were fighting. You really should never do that." She looked uncomfortable as she spoke, as if fighting was so horrible it was hard to talk about.

I wasn't sure what to make of this other than I wasn't going to get a look from my mother. I decided anything that prevented that was fine with me. My mother put the car into drive and the whole way home I tried to come up with theories as to what had happened to my mother. The best I could come up with was possession. Or maybe alien abduction? I shook my head at the absurdity of it. I really needed to be more creative.

I didn't want to run the risk of my mother coming to her senses so when we got home I hauled my bags upstairs and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in my room. I attempted to read my history book but the Mitchell's dog was barking so loudly I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't understand why that dog suddenly acted like he didn't know who his owners were. It's not like they had changed into different people overnight. I finally got so frustrated that I slammed the book shut and turned on my computer.

I dialed in to the internet and loaded my browser. The news site that was homepage loaded slowly but surely. The headlines I saw were so strange. They seemed to be a mixture of articles detailing more odd occurances and articles questioning what was making things odd in the first place. I was glad that I wasn't the only one who had noticed something was off.

I wasn't very interested in the news so I clicked over to the website of my favorite band, No Doubt. I had loved them ever since I was little and my mother had promised me that next summer we would go to a concert. I couldn't wait. The page was loading slower than usual. My attention was seized by the huge headline at the top of the page. I was instantly horrified.

"_No Doubt on hiatus. Stefani to attempt solo album."_

I was totally speechless. How could my favorite band break up? I scanned the following write-up and apparently Gwen had gone into a recording session and declared that she was working on a solo album and she wasn't going to be working with the band anymore. When they asked her why her only answer was, "Being a solo act is my Calling." I didn't understand that at all, and from the way the rest of the article read, neither did the band. This was horrible.

I turned off my computer. Things were getting so bizarre I couldn't take it anymore. I went downstairs, hoping my mother was still in her strange non-death-look-giving mood.

She was preparing dinner, and it looked like it was about finished. "What's for dinner?" I asked timidly, hoping her good mood had held out.

"Veggie pizza," she replied with a smile.

I was fairly concerned. I hated vegetables, especially cooked ones. I was not going to be able to eat this dinner. My mother had really gone off the deep-end. "Veggies?" I whined. "Do we have anymore sausage in the freezer? Can I put that on my part?"

I was about to open the freezer when she answered, "No I threw all the meat away. I'm a vegetarian. I think it's horrible, the suffering those poor animals have to go through."

I gaped at my mother. What was wrong with her? She was the most carnivorous person I knew, always making burgers, steaks, or hotdogs. She must be sick or something. "Mom, are you ok?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. And you don't need to call me Mom anymore. You can call me Cloud Spinner," she said with a wide smile as she turned back to the oven.

It was official. My mother had gone insane. Wasn't she too old to just be getting schizophrenia? Was she delusional, hallucinating, or just plain crazy? There was no explanation for this. This had me terrified and I ran upstairs as quickly as I could, trying to get as far away from 'Cloud Spinner' as possible. I locked my door and prayed that whatever my mother had wasn't contagious. It was 5:30 which meant my dad would be home in less than a half hour. Hopefully he would know what to do.

I waited until I heard my father's car pull into the driveway. I sprung from the bed, unlocked the door and rushed down the stairs. I ran through the kitchen past my mother and out to the garage where he was just getting out of the car. I ran up to him and pulled him into a hug. He didn't seem to see anything out of the ordinary as he just hugged me tightly. I pulled back and looked at him. He had an odd expression on his face also. It was as if he were going to cry. He looked away and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

I was very concerned. When did my father get weepy? I looked at him and realized there was something different about his eyes. Maybe he had something in them that was causing the tears to form. I looked closer and realized there was something outlining the irises of his eyes. It looked like there was something reflective stuck in there. When my father realized what I was staring at he blinked and attempted to draw my attention elsewhere.

"Hey, kid. How was your day?" he asked.

I was reminded about my previous crisis. "Dad, there's something wrong with Mom."

"What? Is she ok? Is she hurt?" he asked in a slight panic.

"No, she's not hurt. She's just been acting really strange today. She picked me up from school and I should've been in big trouble and she didn't even say anything. She's suddenly decided she's a vegetarian and wants me to call her 'Cloud Spinner'! Can we have her committed please?" I was only half joking. There was something about the way my mother was acting that made me leery of spending too much time around her. Like whatever was wrong with her was going to leach out onto me.

"Now sweetie," my father said. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with her. I talked to her earlier and she told me that she is now Cloud Spinner. I know it's a little strange but you shouldn't have to deal with it too much longer." I was startled with my father's use of the word 'you'. Shouldn't he have said 'we'? Was it that my parents were getting a divorce and this was my mother's twisted way of dealing with it? This was the most plausible theory I had come up with yet.

I felt oddly relieved for some reason. The prospect of my parent's divorce should have left me distraught but since I knew my mother's craziness was just a reaction to this event I felt better. Hopefully it would pass soon.

The rest of the evening went smoothly, with the exception of the veggie pizza I was obliged to force down. My mother was acting even more strangely but that was probably because my father was there, and he would probably be moving out soon. I kept waiting for one of them to bring it up but they didn't. They must have been waiting for a more opportune time.

As I went up to bed that night I was finally able to divert my attention from my parents back to Jackie. What was I going to do about her? Tomorrow was not going to be a good day.

* * *

_A/N: According to my math Crystal should have been 12 in 2003, just in time for No Doubt to go on hiatus. I decided that she should have good taste in music. And as a side note: NO DOUBT IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER!!! And possibly going on tour next summer. I absolutely cannot wait. _

_Check out the poll on my profile and vote for what you want for the next sequel to A Million Reasons. I have a lot of ideas and I need help knowing what other people want to read. Remember, reviews are love!  
_


	4. Sleep

_A/N: I just saw a Twilight TV spot for the first time. Wow, I didn't think it was possible for me to be any more excited that I was before. Here's chapter 4. Enjoy, only 1 more after this!_

* * *

I woke up the next morning extremely nervous for the events of the day. I hadn't slept well at all. I hoped I would be able to get to sleep early that night.

I hadn't been officially punished by the school for my outburst yesterday so I was sure that was coming. There would also be backlash from Jackie blabbing to Ricky, so I had to be prepared for that as well. I purposely took extra time getting ready so I could rush down the stairs just in time to catch the bus. I was not going to let my mom's erratic behavior shift my focus.

Amanda was practically bouncing in her seat as I boarded the bus. She had undoubtedly heard all about my antics yesterday and wanted to hear the story directly from the source. Mrs. Blake was friendly again, but I didn't let it bother me. I took my seat and smiled at Amanda, starting before she even had to ask.

"She deserved it. You would not believe what she did!" I ranted.

"So it's true? You really attacked Jackie? What did she do?" Amanda could barely contain herself.

"She tried to blackmail me into quitting cheerleading just because you gave me a hair tie. Apparently that's 'conversing with the enemy'," I said, making air quotes. I needed to convey how ridiculous this actually was.

"She actually said that?" Amanda asked, shocked. "It's a good thing you attacked her yesterday or I might have had to take care of her today."

"Well there still might be opportunity," I said. "She's definitely still going to be heated and I'm so not in the mood to deal with it today." I took a deep pained breath as I remembered the announcement I was expecting from my parents.

Amanda noticed the pause. "Is something else wrong?"

"Ok you can't tell anyone," I started. "I think my parents might be getting a divorce."

"What?" Amanda asked, stunned. "How do you know?"

"Well, my mom has been acting really strange. I mean really, really strange. She asked me to start calling her 'Cloud Spinner'." I made a face expressing my distaste which Amanda returned. "And then my dad said something about how I won't have to deal with it too much longer. Not we, just me. So that means he's moving out and they're getting a divorce."

Amanda just looked at her. "Wow, I didn't realize. Your parents always seemed so happy."

We had arrived and as I stood to depart Amanda followed. "Doesn't make sense to stay separate since Jackie has probably ruined everything already," she said.

I smiled at her and we got off the bus together. We both scanned the playground and our eyes landed on Jackie at the same moment. My eyes bulged. Not only was she sitting at the picnic table that Andrew usually occupied, she was making conversation with him. Andrew looked completely bewildered but Jackie was chatting away like she hadn't spent the last six months actively hating him. She popped up as she saw Amanda and me approaching cautiously.

"Hey guys! I'm glad to see you." I glanced at Amanda and rolled my eyes. Jackie was up to something. "I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry about what I tried to do yesterday Crystal. That was horrible of me to try to blackmail you like that. Can we please put it behind us?" She pulled me into a hug and I was aghast to realize Jackie was actually being sincere.

"And I was just over here trying to help Andrew and Ricky get over their differences. This is a silly argument, don't you think?" Jackie continued. She looked at Andrew and smiled like they were the best of friends. I was so surprised I could barely keep up. Without waiting for an answer Jackie began again. "And I'm going to talk to Mrs. Lange. You shouldn't be kicked off the squad, especially since they decided that everyone makes it now."

I was stunned for a new reason. They were letting everyone cheer now? What was the point of tryouts then? If I had to go to the nerve-wracking torture of tryouts and then everyone made the squad I was going to be very angry. That just wasn't fair.

The day wore on, with one bizarre event after another. First, Ricky went up to Andrew to apologize and try to make amends. Then at lunch our entire grade sat at one large table (actually several tables pushed together) in the middle of the room. All 112 of us. Then during our planning for the Farewell Ceremony, our teacher Mr. Caruso made a strange announcement.

"Now I know only some of you will not understand this, but it is all for the best. I have been assured that anyone who is not a host yet will be by the Farewell Ceremony. So no worries about anyone causing a scene." He smiled and moved on while about ten hands shot in the air. He just waved them off saying something about 'understanding soon enough'.

During the end of the day announcements it was announced that there would be a short cheerleading meeting after school for all who tried out. After the final bell rang I was so mystified by the day's events I could barely focus on grabbing the right books for my homework. I headed to the gym for the cheerleading meeting and Mrs. Lange was already waiting for us. As soon as everyone was seated on the floor she began.

"As most of you have heard, the tryouts were extremely close yesterday. So close in fact that we have made the decision to include everyone on next year's squad. We would like to take this opportunity to talk to you each separately, just as a chance to get to know you better." She smiled at the group but something in her expression made her seem less than sincere. "We'll call you in one at a time and when you're finished you're free to leave." With that she turned and walked into the girls' locker room.

Cara was called first. After about 5 minutes another girl, Mady, was called, though Cara hadn't returned yet. Hadn't Mrs. Lange said that we would go one at a time? I contemplated this while Mrs. Lange called Alexis, Hannah, and Leah in succession.

No one had returned when Mrs. Lange stood at the door, called, "Crystal?" and motioned for me to enter. I was uneasy. I walked into the locker room, nervous.

"Go ahead, take a seat." Mrs. Lange motioned to the chair in the center of the room.

I scanned the room as I sat. Mrs. Lange had taken her place behind a table with two other women who had been judges yesterday, but no one else was around. Where had the others gone? "What's going on?" I asked, my pulse quickening.

"Nothing. We just wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday. We understand that you have some temper issues now but you'll be past them soon enough," Mrs. Lange said with certainty.

It troubled me that she seemed so confident. Who was she to think that she knew anything about me or my temper? My uneasiness shifted to irritation just thinking about it. I sat there with my arms crossed waiting for Mrs. Lange to continue.

There was an uncomfortable silence as I scanned the room again and my eyes landed on something strange. There were tanks piled in one corner. They looked vaguely like the propane tank attached to our grill except something about it made it look more sophisticated. My dad would be pretty disappointed if there was a newer model of grill that he didn't know about.

"What's that?" I asked, anxiety creeping back in. I pointed toward the tanks, shifting in my chair. I wasn't sure why but my body seemed tensed for a fast getaway.

"Oh," Mrs. Lange said, flustered, like I wasn't supposed to notice them. "Those are just some old storage tanks."

"What goes in them?" I wasn't going to let this subject drop, since it seemed like a subject she didn't want to talk about.

Mrs. Lange considered the question so long that I was sure the answer was going to be a lie. "They're a kind of refrigeration unit. I guess it's experimental."

"I don't believe you." I said, standing to leave. I was sick of everyone acting differently and being lied to. Was I in an alternate universe or something?

"Sit, please," Mrs. Lange recommended sternly. I realized I had no choice in this situation now. I started to panic.

"What's going on?" I whispered, tears welling in terror. I glanced from person to person, hoping one of them would answer me honestly.

"Don't worry sweetheart," Mrs. Lange said trying to comfort me. "Everything will be alright. But I'm going to need to you calm down. Things don't go smoothly if you're all worked up. Can you try to do that for me?"

Everything had been so strange the last 24 hours I didn't know which way was up anymore. Finally I decided calming down would be in everyone's best interest. I took a deep breath and my heart rate slowed. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. I smelled something sweet, and inhaled deeply. I found myself drifting off to sleep.

I was twelve years old when I fell asleep and I didn't wake up for nine years.

* * *

_A/N: Crystal was knocked out and Pet was inserted. Pet woke up shortly afterwards and Crystal was completely absent. She has no memory of Pet at all.__  
FYI: the next chapter (also the last one) is Chapter 9 of A Million Reasons from Crystal's POV. It probably won't make much sense if you haven't read that chapter, sorry.  
P.S. the first person who tells me where the names of the cheerleaders who get called in before Crystal came from gets the next/last chapter dedicated to them_


	5. Awakening

_A/N: This the Chapter 9 of A Million Reasons from Crystal's point of view. Basically all you have to know is Wanda is giving birth and the stress of labor wakes Crystal. Ian is at her feet and she is leaning against Burns. The baby is coming too fast to make it to the Healer's so they pulled over on the side of the road. Hopefully that's explanation enough. _

_Congratulations to starlitsmile who answered my challenge first. And thanks to wilty and Someone aka Me for making attempts as well. The names of the cheerleaders called in the previous chapter were Cara, Mady, Alexis, Hannah, and Leah, the girls from Jon & Kate Plus 8, my favorite show. The super-cute boys deserve a shout out too. Aaden, Collin, and Joel. The best dream I've had in months? I dreamed I was their nanny. I think that would be awesome haha._

_Ok, rambling finished. Final Chapter here. Enjoy!  
_

* * *

I stayed asleep for nine years. I had no memories, no awareness, no dreams. Nine years of my life left blank. When I woke up, I had no idea of the time that had passed or the activity of my body during that time.

The last thing I remembered was drifting off to sleep in the locker room, but when I woke up I was in the backseat of a car and from the look of my surroundings I was in the desert somewhere. There were no deserts anywhere near Portland. The first conclusion that I jumped to was that I had been kidnapped. I tried to get up and make a break for it but soon realized I couldn't force my legs to move. Had they given me some kind of drug to paralyze me? I had seen that in a horror movie once. Why did my life seem like a horror movie recently?

I looked around and realized I was not alone. There was a man at my feet and a man sitting behind me who I appeared to be leaning on. What was going on? All of the sudden I felt a strange pain in my stomach. The two men were both barking out orders, mostly to each other but sometimes at me. One would say "Push!" and the other would say "Breathe!" I didn't understand what was going on.

"What's going on here?" I asked.

No one even looked at me. It was like I hadn't spoken at all. Finally I was answered, by a female voice that sounded eerily familiar. "It's ok. The baby's just coming a little faster than we expected. We'll be fine." Baby? What baby? I was so confused. I didn't see any babies or anyone that was pregnant. And why did that voice sound so familiar? Where was she? I couldn't see anyone else other than the two men.

I felt the pain again and looked to my stomach to discover the cause. I nearly fainted when I saw a bulging pregnant stomach. How long had I been asleep for? What kind of sick people were these?

I tried to scream but I didn't have control over my mouth. How had my previous question been answered? It was then that I felt this strange other presence. Almost like I was sharing my mind with someone else. It was completely bizarre and absolutely impossible but the feeling stuck with me anyway. Was it possible that this was true? While this would seem off the wall on any other day, I reminded myself that the last two days of my life had been completely off the wall. If there was someone there I needed to know why.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

The same familiar voice answered me, out of breath. "We were on our way to the Healer but we had to pull over. I'm sure everything will be fine." Her ragged breathing seemed synchronized with my own. It was as if she was the one giving birth not me.

I could hear the man who was at my feet talking to me, calling me Wanda. Who was Wanda? Then the voice replied to his question, saying that she was talking to the woman asking the questions. I guessed that she meant me, which meant she was Wanda. So why was he looking at me when he asked that question? Then Wanda said that she thought my voice was coming from the other side of the car.

How could she not know where I was? Everyone was focused on me. I had to let her know what was going on. "I'm not outside the car," I said. "I'm sitting in the backseat."

I felt my breath catch and I sensed a strange searching in my brain, like I was investigating some detail I couldn't quite recall. I had no idea what I was searching for but I tried to focus as hard as I could on the search. I found myself thinking about a day a couple of years before. It was just a normal day. I was just sitting in front of the mirror in my room brushing my hair. I had no idea why my brain had wanted to see this scene.

The voice spoke again, though this time it sounded different, like she was just speaking directly into my mind, not voicing her thoughts out loud.

'_What is your name?'_ Wanda asked me.

I was terrified. What had happened? Was she really in my head at the same time as me? How was that possible? What was going on? A million questions rushed through my mind. It took awhile to realize that I still had to answer her.

'_Crystal'_, I responded.

Wanda's attention was now diverted to her labor. I found it easy to focus elsewhere. It may have been my body but this was Wanda's labor. I was just along for the ride.

I hoped that since she could probe my mind for information I could do the same to her. I searched her memories and found that she had been using my body as a host. I was absolutely horrified, especially when I found that everyone who I had been accused of being possessed really was, in a technical sense of the word. I realized that without my body Wanda would not be able to survive, so it was useless to me to hope that she would give me my body back.

During this time Wanda had given birth to the baby and was looking at it lovingly through my eyes. I had to admit she was a very cute baby, but she wasn't mine. She may have been born from my body but she wasn't mine. I was only twelve years old after all.

It was at that point that I started bombarding Wanda with questions. How long have I been your host? Where are my parents? Am I going to be like this forever? I'm just sitting here, watching you live your life? It's just not fair! I could tell that Wanda was not in the mood for my questions at the moment but I needed answers.

She sighed and showed me her plan. I would get my body back. Apparently, some hosts are lost completely, and that was the only reason she used me; she thought I had been lost forever. She would find another body, with a host who was not present. She urged me to wait patiently and that it would be taken care of very soon but I wanted it taken care of now. I decided that I could show her a small amount of kindness and as a preemptive payback for the enormous amount of kindness she was about to show me. I left her alone to faun over her baby with the man I assumed was her husband. I had to say, he was very good looking but he was so old!

I waited in the background while Wanda went to the doctor, who she called a 'healer'. He inspected her and the baby and gave them a clean bill of health. They didn't have to stay at the hospital a couple of nights? Things had really changed.

Wanda was sitting outside waiting to be picked up by the other soul. Her husband, who she called Ian, was sitting in the bushes hiding from other souls. He was still human. That fact alone helped me to believe Wanda's promise that she would let me have my body back.

She seemed reminded of that promise and started talking to Ian, letting him know of my sudden awakening. She called me Pet, which was the first time she allowed me to see that she was the second soul to inhabit my body. I couldn't say that I was happy with this revelation but I wasn't going to hold it against her just yet.

She told Ian her theory about how I was woken up by the stress on the body of having a baby. Then she thought to herself, _'I cannot deal with another rebellious host'._

I already knew that her previous host was less than hospitable in the beginning and she seemed worried it was going to happen again. _'I'm not rebelling yet. And if you keep your promise I won't have to,' _I reminded her.

The other soul arrived and Wanda placed the baby in the backseat, the whole time worried about Ian's reaction to her news. She thought he was angry at her. Then he told the other soul that we had to pick up a cryo-tank. This didn't mean anything at first until Wanda sent me a flash of the tanks I had seen in the locker room. Which meant that I was getting my body back sooner than I had hoped.

"We need to find Wanda a new host," Ian said. Wanda was right to love him. He was a very compassionate to not only Wanda, but me too. I was getting my life back.

Then a new question crept in. What kind of life would I be going back to?

* * *

_A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys are awesome! I have a few stories I've been working on and I think my next project will be my version of Breaking Dawn in musical form. And yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds._


End file.
